February 23, 2012
Major step toward dream; San Benito plans cultural heritage center
by FERNANDO DEL VALLE
Valley Morning Star
SAN BENITO -
After about five years of planning, city leaders have taken their first big step to developing a cultural heritage center to house the city’s three museums, they said Thursday.
City commissioners this week voted to apply to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration for a $1.2 million grant to help fund the project’s construction.
Commissioners also agreed to seek qualifications from architects to design a 15,750-square-foot center to house the San Benito History Museum, the Freddy Fender Museum, the Texas Conjunto Hall of Fame and Museum and the Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center, said Alma Puente Colleli, executive director of the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
“This is the first major step toward our dream,” said Rey Avila, founder of the Conjunto Hall of Fame and Museum.
Officials hope to the federal grant despite a tight government budget, said Tootie Madden, president of the San Benito History Museum.
The grant would match $1.2 million that came from a 2007 sale of certificates of obligation earmarked for the project, Puente Colleli said.
“We’re certainly hoping we’re awarded the grant but everything’s tight right now,” Madden said.
Officials will seek an architectural firm with experience in museum design, she said.
“That’s going to be the fun part,” Madden said. “So much of a museum is behind the scenes.
It’s all the interior spaces. You’ve got to have the room to put the exhibits together and rooms to store artifacts that are climate-controlled.”
The city will fund architectural work through sales tax revenue earmarked for economic development, Puente Colleli said. This year, officials project those sales tax revenues to raise about $900,000, she said.
Officials plan to use the design to launch a fund raising drive to help fund the project, Madden said.
“It’s going to be easier (to raise money) when we have an architect’s drawing,” she said. “The public is more likely to buy into the project when you have a visual.”
Local leaders plan to complete the architectural design by September before seeking a contractor in November and December, Puente Colleli said. Construction could begin as early as January, she said.
For the project, local leaders have selected a 2-acre site on which stands the city’s Community Building that currently houses the city’s three museums.
Article taken from Valley Morning Star on February 28, 2012
